JANOME HORIZON QUILT MAKER MC 15000

YES…….we are thrilled to announce that our Janome Horizon Quilt Maker MC15000 is now available in Canada at your local Janome MC15000 authorized dealer.  You can always look at our Dealer locator (topright corner of www.janome.ca. This shows the Janome MC15000 logo next to the dealer listing so you know which dealers have been trained on this machine and can offer you the appropriate after sales support with lessons and expert advice about using your machine and software).

This Quilt Maker model of the Janome Horizon MC15000 is brand new and is waiting for you to start a great sewing, quilting and embroidery adventure! Please contact your authorized Janome dealer today to find out the full story.

You might like to check if one of our Janome Educators will be visiting your Janome dealer’s store this Fall to offer a Janome Launch party. We will be conducting these at select Janome stores across Canada starting from this week.  All the new features and feet outlined below are included with the purchase of a new Janome Horizon Quilt Maker MC15000 together with a coupon to download the AcuDesign APP for free.

Already own a Janome Horizon Mc15000 version 1 or 2? No worries……you are entitled to a free update which must be done at your local Janome dealer. (Probably a wise idea to call ahead and book an appointment to have this done.  These upgrade kits have started to arrive in Canada but stocks are limited so it is suggested you get your name on an update list with your dealer).

This update and upgrade involves the installation of the software update + an enhanced needle threader. Your P embroidery foot and foot holder for 9mm feet will be exchanged for 2 new feet so please remember to take these with you when you visit your dealer to have your machine updated. Your dealer will be unable to provide the new feet without taking the old ones from you. These will be discarded as should NOT be used after the update.   This part of the update is free of charge.

Please note that you should NOT use the feet in this kit if your machine has not been updated to the latest version. Please use the new P embroidery foot or new foot folder in order for the new enhanced needle threader to work properly. In other words – please ensure you do the ENTIRE update and upgrade for optimum results.

In addition to this, existing Janome MC15000 owners are able to purchase the Quilting feet upgrade package shown above. And who wouldn’t wnat these feet you have all been asking for!?  FIVE new feet + HP needle plate (the very same found on the MC9400 that is proving so popular!). These feet include the following: Ruler foot QR; Variable zig-zag foot QZ; 1/4 inch seam foot without the flange; Darning foot PD-H open toe; Professional foot HP; Professional grade needle plate HP.

 

New Features!

Tapering

A tapering function page has been added to the home screen

Ruler Work

Ruler Work Foot and Ruler Work function in Sewing Applications

*Ruler Work Foot and function have been developed specifically for carrying out ruler work.

Click here to see the detailed information

New Feet Variable Zigzag Open-toe Foot (QZ) *An open type Variable Zigzag Foot which makes it easy to see what you’re working on. Click here to see the detailed information 1/4″ Seam Foot (without guide) (O)

*Because there is no guide plate, you can sew smoothly without a guide catching on the seam allowance when piecing.

Click here to see the detailed information

Darning Foot (Open-toe) (PD-H)

*With this open-toe 9mm darning foot, the needle is very easy to see when free-motion quilting.

Click here to see the detailed information

Professional Grade Foot (HP) and Professional Grade Needle Plate (HP)

*A combination of a slim foot and special matching needle plate.

Click here to see the detailed information

Embroidery

6 additional frame types for 2-letter/3-letter embroidery monograms

PC application

HorizonLinkSuite Ver.1.31

*AcuStitchTool

Click here to see the detailed information

*Addition of total stitch number in Design List

New iPad APP for MC15000 and SKYLINE S9!

AcuSketch

You can make your very own original embroidery stitch data from sketches you have drawn or traced Create free-motion-quilting-like designs Click here to see the detailed information

AcuSetter

One tap positioning of embroidery hoop marks

AcuMonitor

Compatible with iPhone 6 or later Compatible with Horizon Quilt Maker Memory Craft 15000 Sleep mode added

AcuEdit

Compatible with Horizon Quilt Maker Memory Craft 15000

ScreenSaverTool

Compatible with iPhone 6 or later Compatible with Horizon Quilt Maker Memory Craft 15000

The news is now well & truly out ……..visit your local Janome dealer today for more information and stay tuned to janomelife blog as we will be offering posts on new features such as more information of the NEW Quilting kit feet and AcuStitch tool in Horizon Link Suite (yes, this software also needs to be updated by your dealer so be sure to get that done too – This is also free).

 

 

JANOME AcuStitch Tool – NEW

Owners of Janome MC15000 – any version – are in for a real treat!  Janome has pulled out all the stops and added a great new tool to Horizon Link Suite. Owners of version 1 or 2 Janome Mc15000 machines will need to see their local authorized MC15000 Janome Dealer to get this update for their PC. It could be done together with the other updates for needle threader, feet & firmware. Please arrange this with your dealer. The update packages have arrived and are currently being shipped to Janome MC15000 dealers across Canada.

Thanks to Michele, Janome America Educator, who made this neat sample to showcase AcuStitch Tool

So what is ACUSTITCH TOOL? It is one super cool and very smart feature: do you like your Circular attachment and the cool circles and semi cirles you can stitch with it? Then you are going to love AcuStitch Tool! This tool allows you to import Border and Normal sew stitches from the Fonts section of your built in Monograms and lettering in Embroidery mode as well as Created stitches (made in Stitch Composer) to an AcuStitch Tool screen where you can choose whether you want these arranged in a circle or on a line. Decide how big or small you want the circle or line to be and keep adding more circles or lines as you desire. Think PERFECT circles with ease and borders, lines and more for a wide variety of projects: garments, quilts, home dec, etc

The beauty of AcuStitch Tool is that the stitches can be resized bigger than 9mm wide stitches and the circles can be itty bitty small in diameter if you wish. They are all stitched out in the hoop of the Janome Quilt Maker MC15000 so the embroidery unit does the work for you!! You can sit back and drink coffee.  The largest circle size is limited by the hoop size so you will find that you can make slightly larger circles using the Janome Circular attachment so be sure to keep yours handy – Don’t give it to yous sister just yet!

Oh Canada! Maple leaf Quilt Pattern and Aurifil Canada 150 Thread box giveaway

The Oh Canada! Maple Leaf Quilt Pattern is Finally Available + a limited time offer of another pattern  (fabric buckets) from Tamara Kate (see below) .

Tamara Kate of Kayajoydesigns.com is one of our Janome Canada artisans who has been featured in several blog posts in the past. Tamara Kate designed this exquisite quilt below for our Canada 150 Limited edition sewing machine and featured in our Cross Canada Look book this summer. The quilt was also on display in the Janome booth at Quilt Canada in June in Mississauga, Ontario.

Tamara tells us: Earlier this year I designed and made this quilt inspired by the logo I created for Janome Canada’s Special Edition Canada 150 sewing machine (the machine is available until the end of 2017 through your local Canadian Janome dealers) to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. The logo was inspired by the vibrant diversity of this wonderful country of ours.

Making a stunning wall hanging, the quilt is a 44″ square, foundation paper pieced project in a rainbow of colours that has been touring Canadian quilting and sewing shows with the Janome Canada team since this spring. And now you can make your own!

I had a lot of fun with straight line quilting it with the AcuFeed Flex foot (walking foot), using a light grey thread on the leaf and a few rows of light grey, a row of red and lots and lots of rows of a darker grey thread for quilting the ground. These colours, along with a lovely colourful range pulled from the quilt, can be found in the accompanying Aurifil thread kit that is available through many Janome Canada dealers. Please see below for info on how you can enter to win one of 2 boxes of this thread. 

 

 

The pattern is available at Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/patterns/oh-canada-maple-leaf-quilt/503556

I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did. I’ve included a multitude of hints and tips in the pattern to help you out along the way. I think you’ll find it goes together surprisingly quickly due to its large-scale pieces.

And for a limited time, every purchase of the Oh Canada! Maple Leaf Quilt pattern will entitle you to a free copy of my popular Variable Sized Fabric Buckets pattern (see details here: https://www.craftsy.com/sewing/patterns/fabric-buckets-variable-sizes/510467

The additional fabric buckets pattern will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the quilt pattern purchase.

THE MAPLE LEAF QUILT PATTERN INCLUDES:

– Printable pattern.

– Full instructions (with photos) for paper piecing, so even novices to this technique can get straight to it. You basically only need to be a confident sewist and know how to sew a straight line. You’ll be amazed at how quickly and easily it comes together.

– A full fabric requirement list with suggested Michael Miller Cotton Couture colours (though it shouldn’t be difficult to find substitutes from a variety of different fabric houses).

–  A pictorial overview of the pattern for ease with pattern placement.

– Lots of tips and hints to help you out along the way.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS: 44″ x 44″

Pattern: https://www.craftsy.com/quilting/patterns/oh-canada-maple-leaf-quilt/503556

AND AS PROMISED:  we have a thread giveaway. We have two boxes Aurifil 50wt cotton thread as in the pic above. This is our Janome Limited Edition Canada 150 thread box with the colours in the Canada 150 machine logo that Tamara designed.

Want a chance to win one of these 2 thread boxes? Drop a line in the comment box below about what you would like to make with this thread…….besides Tamara’s Maple Leaf quilt , of course!

PLEASE NOTE:

• Shipping of the 2 thread boxes to Canadian addresses only please.
• Only ONE entry per person during the 2 week draw period please. Duplicate entries will be deleted.
• Entries will close at 12 midnight on Saturday 30th September. We will draw ONE winner from entries during week 1:  18-23rd September and a SECOND winner from entries during week 2: 25th – 30th September.
• We will notify the winners in early October and make arrangements to ship the thread to the 2 lucky winners.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Guest blog post from Janome Canada Artisan Jeannie Jenkins.

Jeannie Jenkins is one of our Janome Canada Artisans, sews on the Janome 1600P  and she has a neat project to share today:

This is Canada’s 150th birthday and I wanted to create a quilt of the Canadian flag out of
scraps of red and white fabrics. I thought I would make log cabin blocks. Early log cabin
blocks were pieced using strips of fabrics around a central square. If the central square was
red, it symbolized the hearth of the home. I thought this was appropriate for this project. Even the white blocks have a subtle red and white print in the central block.

There are 6 red and 2 white log cabin blocks and 7 blocks to be paper pieced. Starting with
the easy blocks, I threaded the machine and set the seam allowance. Normally I am not a
particularly fast sewer. I would rather sacrifice speed for accuracy.

Janome cloth guide: After discovering this accessory (see above) I decided to see just how fast this Janome1600P could go without sacrificing accuracy. I was amazed! Such control, the fabric hugged the edge of the seam guide. It was like getting into a fast car and hopping on the freeway. My blocks were done in no time!
Now to start the paper pieced portion of the project. Block number 1 done and it’s a 1/2 inch smaller than the other blocks. Ooops, better check seam allowance. Maybe I should have slowed down was my first thought. Nope, I had actually set the seam allowance at a scant 1/4”  instead of a 1/4”. It doesn’t sound like much but with that many seams per block it made a difference. Okay now what?

Option 1: rip out all 8 log cabin blocks and start again.

Option 2: Keep the blocks and piece the rest of the blocks without the paper foundation. I
chose option 2.

I figured if I used the paper pattern to get the angles right and made my strips a little longer, I could trim away the excess later and continue to use the scant 1/4” seam allowance for the rest of the blocks.

This proved to be an easy fix to what might have ended up as a UFO (unfinished object). It
wasn’t finished by the first of July but it hung proudly at Quilts at the Creek quilt show in
Toronto at the end of July.

Thank you, Jeannie, for sharing this with us.  We Canadians are proud alongside you!

INTRODUCING OUR NEW ACUSKETCH APP

We are thrilled to tell you about a fabulous new APP : AcuSketch  which was launched during August. This is FREE……all you need do is go to the Apple APP store and download it to your iPad. 

This nine patch quilt top was quilted using the Janome ASQ22 hoop Acufil hoop with 8 big magnets to clamp the quilt to the hoop). The 9 quilting designs were “scribbled” on the iPad and sent wirelessly to the Janome MC15000 Quiltmaker for stitching. SO quick and easy – turn your doodles into quilting designs! As one hooping was stitching, another designs was being made in AcuSketch on the iPad. Whole project took less than 2 hours to complete.

Description:  

 The AcuSketch APP allows you to create embroidery patterns for quilts and other projects by tracing or drawing with your finger or a stylus pen on the iPad screen.  There is a “tour” on the APP once you open it so that you may understand how it works. And it is EASY!

Once you have drawn your lines, shapes or sketch, click and it turns these lines into stitches. You may determine the length of these stitches in mm or inches.

Bring in photo’s or images and draw around them to create new designs – see above.

A blank screen in AcuSketch on the iPad. Ready to create a quilting or thread sketching design in minutes!

This was a quick stippling “scribble” ready to turn into quilting stitches instantaneously.

The APP is also very clever as it “smooths”  some of the lines to reduce the “wobble” factor!  Notice the red line in the pic below.

All that remains is to send this to the embroidery machine and stitch it out. If you own a WIFI enabled Janome embroidery machine such as the JANOME MC 15000 or the JANOME SLYLINE S9, you may send the design wirelessly directly from the iPad to the machine …….through the air!

4 different AcuSketch patterns in 4 of the nine patch blocks.

AcuSketch is compatible with the following models of machines to sew:

• Memory Craft 15000 version 2.11
• HORIZON Quilt Maker Memory Craft 15000 (version 3.00)
• SKYLINE S9 version 1.10 

AcuSketch: features :

• You can draw sewing/quilting patterns to fill spaces between other patterns and embroidery. This is, of course, possible with Digitizing software but is SO much easier in this APP. Janome just made things so much more fun an accessible for our projects!
•  If you are not comfortable with free motion quilting, you may scribble your free motion design on the AcuSketch App and the embroidery machine will stitch this out for you. How cool is that!!
• The lines you scribble or sketch become stitches automatically so even people who say they are not computer savvy or don’t like digitizing software, can do this! It would take me hours to digitize an artwork sketch from my grand daughters (see below) , but all I had to do here was take  a photo of their artwork with the built-in camera on the iPad, bring it into the APP (super easy as the photo icon is right there on the APP screen); then trace over their drawing , tell the APP to turn it into  stitches, and send it to the embroidery machine. What a fabulous way to capture their artwork in stitches. Guess what mine are getting for Christmas?? Pillowcases with their very own artwork embroidered on a corner or panel!!
• So this APP is very Simple and fun to use.

This Easter bunny looks a little bit cross – did I eat all his Easter eggs before he could deliver them? It is a pic my little grand daughter drew for me earlier this year. I took a photo of her artwork with my iPad and just traced around her drawing. Then turned it instantly into stitches!

• Some other things to note:
• It is possible to extend a line by simply touching the end of it and continuing to sketch
• The more times you stop & start on the sketch pad, the more times the embroidery machine will stop and tie off the thread. It does have continuous quilting or stitching if you join thelines carefully asyou go or continue with your sketch in one fluid movement. At first I found this tricky, but it was only because it was a new technique. AS ALWAYS,  the more I practiced, the better at it that I got. Now it is a breeze and I am super happy with the results I am achieving.
• When you have completed drawing a line , you can connect the end of the line with another.
• There is also a function to insert images for tracing – as mentioned above – which is what I did with kiddie artwork (see another one below) . I have also seen a lovely sketch of a someone’s pet dog which was very impressive. Sketch over your favourite pics and see what you can achieve – you will be amazed! I even took a pic of the pattern on a carpet and then AcuSketch’ed that and it made a really fun and interesting quilt pattern. The sky is the limit and you DON’T have to to be able to draw. Isn’t that good to know?!
  

  Another piece of kiddie artwork: this time Blake drew me a cat!

  And how about using AcuSketch to stitch labels for your quilts?? So quick and easy. As easy as writing it on the iPad screen and pressing send to machine…….seriously, that is all there is to it!

  

  

  So there you have it….in summary!

  You probably will want to check out AcuSketch!

  We are having an enormous amount of fun and successful stitch-outs using this new App. And it is FREE! Ask your local Janome Dealer today to tell you more about it and/or attend one of our Janome                    Launch parties across Canada this Fall.                                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

CALGARY SEWING SHOW TIME AGAIN!!!

Yes, sewing and quilting enthusiasts……it is time again for the Calgary show or more correctly names: CREATIV FESTIVAL WEST in Calgary.  It is held south of the city at spectacularly beautiful Spruce Meadows show grounds. I love going each year as it is just SO pretty as the leaves have usually started turning gold and theere is a crispness in the air reminding us winter is on its way! Advance tickets are available online and further information may be found here. 

Inside the Exhibit Hall, it is warm and friendly with loads of sewing and quilting goodies to see and buy! Please do come and say Hi to us on the Janome SEWING WORLD booth. We have made some great new show banners and samples that we would love to show you and explain how we made + share with you WHAT’S NEW with JANOME this Fall.

I will be doing 2 different lecture demo presentations at the Calgary show on sergers: SERGER MAGIC 101 & SERGER MAGIC 201. Be sure to come by to see what I have to share using my clever camera so that you can see on the big screen what I am doing at the sergers. Please see the show guide for class descriptions but you may find just what you need to know about sergers in one or both of these free classes.

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW NEXT  WEEKEND 22 & 23 SEPTEMBER !!

TEST SEW AND RE-EVALUATE

When using machine embroidery designs, I always do a test sew of my design first.  I don’t usually make them as large as I would on my finished project,  I just want to see enough of the design to determine if it is indeed what I want my project to look like.  I often see mistakes/issues I want to change when evaluating the test sew before I make my final project.

I wanted to create a design using only the features in my Janome MC15000.  The large screen allows me to edit and see my design before I begin stitching.  I wanted to create an embroidered quilt with a center medallion area and then add embroidery along the border edges.  I called up the quilting designs on the machines screen to look for the style of stitches I wanted.  Remember, the screen on the machine is just an image!! Thread, stabilizer, hooping practices, fabric and batting will all effect the finished design.

Sometimes editing ready made designs will give you the results you are looking for.  Not all pre-digitized designs will be exactly what you want or were expecting.  I wanted a center medallion that had some paisley design features to it.  I could not find one so I used a corner design built into the machine and edited it into four segments brought together to make my center medallion.

Since this is a quilted project, I used my Acufil ASQ 22 hoop with the magnetic clamps to hoop the entire quilt sandwich.  Using the plastic template that came with the hoop, I was able to center the edited design perfectly in the quilting area I wished to fill.

I went back into the editing screen of my Janome MC15000 and looked for a paisley shaped element that would work for a border around the center area.  In the quilting folder I found a traditional feather design.  By resizing it I was able to make it into  a shape that resembled the paisley shape I wanted.  I copied and rotated on the screen to make two matching elements.  After drawing placement lines on the quilt, I hooped the design to follow the lines on the quilt.

The feather shape was edited enough into a new shape that it blended well with the paisley shapes in the center medallion.  I then placed these elements around the entire center area.

I am happy with the placement, shapes, and edited elements for this project.  But I am not done yet!  I always wash all my quilts.  I like the softer, puffy look rather than a perfectly flat surface.  So, into the washer it went.  This is where all the marking lines are removed and I can see the finished project.  But, in re-evaluating this little test piece, I can clearly see that it should have some more quilting stitches around the elements to help remove the wrinkles created.  At this stage of testing, I can now proceed with my finished project remembering that I will be adding a little free motion quilting around the elements to help the project be more stable and more clearly define  the embroidery elements.

I encourage all of you to use your editing tools on the machine and test sew a sample. Evaluate the stitches and re-evaluate the project to determine if you need more support for your project by adding more stitches around the elements.

 

Look Book Placemats made by Kim Jamieson-Hirst

Kim is one of our Janome Canada Artisans who sews on our Janome Horizon MC9400, MC8900, MC500E and she has an Artistic Edge Digital cutter too!

Kim made a set of fun, Canada 150 inspired place mats for our Cross Canada 2017 Look Book.  

Kim has written up the instructions for making these placemats including the maple leaf template. Please find these on this link. 

Thank you, Kim for making these lovely celebratory placemats and sharing the How-to instructions with us.

Do you have a set of place mats you made for your home & family? 

Aren’t you glad you can sew when you see the price of these in home decor and linen stores?

Are you now inspired to make  a set of place mats for your home or as a gift? 

Guest blog post from Janome Artisan: Tania Denyer

Tania Denyer has shared some artistic, quilting ideas in a previous post   as well as offering us 2 great projects in the 2017 Cross Canada Look book. See http://www.janomemaker.com. Tania sews on our Janome Skyline s7 and has another artistic quilting project to share today.

 

Summer passes so quickly, as I am sure I do not need to remind you… and summer means vacation. This summer I found my sewjo also took a vacation… which I was not expecting! It gave me no notice, it simply up and disappeared!

 

I have had this happen before, and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to take myself to somewhere creative, but not somewhere quilt related. It may seem crazy but it works.

In July I took an art trip to the AGO. Art Gallery of Ontario. I let myself wander through the exhibits, looking at whatever took my interest and that was how I discovered Rita Letendre. Her paintings are modern and abstract, full of colour, line, and movement.

This one in particular sparked my curiosity… and of course I wondered how it would work as a quilt!

Once home I pulled the colours from the painting using solid colour fabrics and improv stitched them together. I didn’t worry about making an exact copy, I simply wanted to capture the colours she used.

Then I decided to play with the fancy stitches on with my Janome S7. I alternated straight line quilting with the occasional decorative stitch for visual interest. I have marked on the photo the stitch number that produced each, if you want to try on your own machine.

I used coordinating threads from the Aurifil Canada 150 collection.  See page 31 & 32 of the Look book for this Thread Collection. It is a small piece so I thought that keeping the fancy stitches the same colour as the fabric would keep things calmer in the overall design.

This is how it ended up. My sewjo returned from vacation!

Do you think this qualifies as a modern crazy quilting?

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE NEW JANOME MC6700P????

There is big excitement as we start launching this brand new and awesome sewing machine here in Canada. We will be showing it at the Edmonton show this weekend on the Johnson’s Sewing Center JANOME booth. Do stop by the booth if you are in the area and we will be happy to show it to you. Or you could call your local Janome dealer to find out if they have it on the floor to show you yet.

Several of my educators have told me they love this new machine so much, they would like me to give it to them to use at home?!? Well, they will need to get in line behind me!

SO MANY FABULOUS FEATURES…..NEEDS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED!

 

This brand new Janome sewing machine builds upon the classic Janome MC6500P and Janome MC6600P which sold countless 10’s of 1000’s of models globally. In fact they are still for sale as new machines – they are so popular we can’t stop selling them!

BUT we have something bigger (10 inches throat space) and better with well loved features wonderfully updated for 2017 sewing and quilting!  Enter the JANOME MC6700P!

Some fav. features you might like to consider:

• Solid metal flat bed on the machine …..bringing back the best of classic models but better with more space at 10 inches!
• HP needle plate and foot which was SO well received on the Janome Horizon MC9400 – now also comes with the MC6700!
• Adding the highly efficient and famous ACUFEED FLEX  and 7 point feed dog system
• 9mm wide stitches for even more stitching enjoyment.\
• Great white LED lighting – much better technology lighting than what is found on the Mc6500P an MC6600P.
• Stitches at speeds up to 1200spm which makes it the FASTEST sewing machine in the industry. WOW!
• One step needle plate removal lever on front left corner of the machine. NO screwdriver and screws needed. Awesome!
• Stitch chart doubles as a mini clip board….how cool is that?
• Dials and knobs so loved on previous models have been retained and yet there is a larger LCD screen to have “the best of both worlds”!

Visit your local Janome dealer soon to see this incredible new machine before they are all sold out and you have to wait for the next shipment to arrive!